Trying the popping cork for the first time

DragScreamer

ok so im gonna try using a popping cork tomm at the anclote river for reds trout and bluefish but i wanna know is it better to use artificial or live or cut bait for them?? if so what? thanks for the help

Anonymous 1

Never used cut bait on a cork. Have done good with jigs, and live shrimp or greenbacks.

Yaksquatch

Cutbait on bottom with a bit of weight. But if the catfish find it first, switch up to something different. I'm a fan of putting a livie under the cork (2-5ft of line below depending on water depth) and leave the rod in the rodholder with light drag while drifting. I'll then actively fish artificials like a jig or plug while I wait for the livie to get bit. Being able to switch between techniques is more important than being 'married' to a single technique, especially if it's not working.

Good luck,
Alex

PONCE

If you use Arties, go for the Gulp shrimp in the new penny or pearl color, DOA has a nice set-up with there popping cork with a doa shrimp on a jig head about a foot under the surface.

DragScreamer

awesome thanks

troutman57

Cut bait on corks.
Just my 2 cents. I use cut bait under a cork for trout all the time when they wont take dines. I cut a pennant shaped pc of pinfish, pigfish, lizzard fish.........try a pc about 4" long and 1" wide hook through the short flat side 1/8" in. I use 20# flouro leader a 3-5/0 worm hook with a small bullet weight that slides right down to the hook.....cheap and deadly!

Pipefitter

Never had much luck with 'popping' a popping cork. In some instances it seemed to suppress strikes when fish were already actively hitting off of a cork rig that was just sitting on it's own. I often pop them after the cast to make sure the line isn't tangled around itself at the cork, but it never seemed to make much, if any difference fishing live baits, at least when fishing for trout.

Pmoconnor89

Often times when I can't get a bite otherwise, throwing a Gulp shrimp on a jighead underneath a popping cork is what I will go to. In plain numbers, I have probably caught more trout this way than any other. However I do have to say they generally are cookie cutter size, and I don't tend to get my larger trout this way.

temmor

I have a lot of experience using artificials under a cork. Below is my response to another thread with a similar subject.

At one time I was the majority owner of Love's Lures and as many of you may know long before the equalizers, deadly combos., etc. we produced and marketed a grub tail on a jig head attached to a 24 inch mono leader with a cigar shaped cork. Love's Lures still makes the product, . It is called the Float-N-Jig. To fish it you would set the cork so that the jig would settle just above the grass (if the water is shallow enough). The retrieve would be a series of strong pops. Strong pop of the cork, let the jig settle for a few seconds and pop again.

I fish a similar rig - larger cigar shaped cork, 6ft. floro. leader, and the jig is either a Gulp shrimp or DOA shrimp or a Love's Lures Slugger. I feel the cigar shaped cork has three advantages over the Equalizer/Cajun thunder "clicking" type floats.
1. The sound the cork makes when popped sounds like a trout hitting a bait on top of the water. Other fish will come look to see what is happening and here comes the jig floating down right into their face.
2. The cigar floats I use have a slit down the size and can be removed or put on without having to cut the leader and re-tie the jig. If I want to quit fishing the jig under the float and work it on the bottom I just remove the cork.
3.I can easily adjust the depth of the jig under the cork without having to cut and re-tie the leader. This makes life much easier if you are drifting across a flat and trying to find the depth where the fish are holding.

An artificial under a cork is unbeliveably effective and I have caught a LOT of large fish as well as schoolies using this rig. It works for everything, trout, redfish, snook, bluefish, flounder and all sorts of trash fish. I have also caught a few cobia and even an occasional small shark using this rig.

Precaster

I went out and bought a couple different styles of popping corks. One had the concave top and the other was round on both ends. Both had the wire and beads attached. Went out to 1,000 Islands in Cocoa both Saturday and Sunday this week and fished the leeward side of the islands closest to the river since the wind was howling out on the river.
Tried strips of cut mullet and pinfish and butterfly'd whole live pinfish. Popped the heck outa them corks and didn't get one bite. I did hook up a nice big Red on a butterfly'd pinfish on a Carolina rig without the bobber but he broke off in the Mangroves...darn! I'll try them again when I can get out in the grass and sand holes but for now I'm not impressed.

slapshot

I try corks every so often. I've found they work much better early in the morning than mid day. I use Gulp shrimp (white or new penny) and get average results. Mostly small trout, but when they bite is slow, they work. I tried various retrieval speeds, and the method like temmor explained seems to work the best. Give it a strong pop, then wait 2-3 seconds and pop it again.